Three Fun Crafts You Can Do with Popsicle Sticks

Popsicle sticks – or craft sticks – open up a world of possibilities when it comes to crafts. Armed with glue and craft paint, you can do some amazing crafts with these handy wooden sticks. Here are three ideas:

1. Boxes

You can make handy little boxes with lids using craft sticks. Here’s what you’ll need:

Lay the wax paper out on your work surface. Take four popsicle sticks and lay them evenly side by side on the wax paper. Along the top of this row, glue a popsicle stick (flat side down). Do the same with the bottom edge. Now do the same with the sides. Like a log cabin, keep gluing down Popsicle sticks along the alternating edges until you have the sides of the box at the height you want.

For the lid, lay out popsicle sticks like you did for the bottom, and glue two to the top and bottom edges and two to the side edges. If you want to paint your box, do so at this point. When everything is finished, glue a marble or bead in the center of the box top to make a handle.

2. Fans

This is a simple craft that your kids can do to celebrate a holiday or just show off their artwork. The basics are this:

First, boil the popsicle sticks in water for 30 minutes. Then let them sit in the water while it cools. This gets them soft enough to bend without breaking (some will break, though, so be prepared). When the water has cooled, take the popsicle sticks one at a time from the water and bend them around the cardboard tube. Hold them in place with rubber bands. Once they have dried, you can remove the rubber bands and slip the curved craft sticks from the tube. Then use the hot glue, ribbon, beads, and so forth to decorate your bracelets.